Wow what an issue. I am such a big fan of Mac's, I was so happy to see him on the cover. And what an article! It was just a great, fun read.

My workshop group "The Art of Magic" (featured in the Dec. issue of MAGIC) is having a workshop with Mac in Las Vegas in Feb. and I could not be more excited. Mac is truly one of the greats of our generation. His expertise and showmanship could only be achieved from the years of hard work that Mac has put into his craft. He more than deserves to be on top of the pack.. and on top of all that, he is really nice guy!

I just wanted to second John's opinion. The issue is great and so is Mac. In addition to being a hardworking and constantly thinking performer, he is also the nicest and most honorable guy you would ever want to meet. His standards and ethics are extremely high, a rarity in any field. I overheard a guy at a local magic club recently, when asked if he was going to see Mac on his upcoming trip to Vegas. The guy said, "Nah, he's just the guy that taught the tricks on the world's greatest magic specials." Thanks Genii for letting the magic world know how much more Mac has to show!

That's funny that you mention "the guy who taught the trick on World's Greatest Magic" because that's how I knew him as until I saw him perform live. He was dynamite. He was funny and he fooled me with one of his effects.

Mac King is a very talented performer and the article on him is wonderful.

My wife and I saw him on a show on the Home and Garden Channel where they went inside the homes of some magicians. His house was one of 4 (I believe the others were Lance Burton and Marc Salem and one more whom I cannot remember).

One of the things Mac is pretty proud of is receiving a solid A rating from Las Vegas Review Journal columnist Mike Weatherford. The paper is stingy with A's, usually giving them only to the best of the big shows, such as S&R, Blue Man Group, etc. And a few of the big guns received only an A-. Check Weatherford's astute comments at http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Aug- ... 98387.html

For those who are thanking me, I appreciate it. I loved this issue of Genii too, but I hasten to point out what a great job Richard did. I contributed only the interview, which, thanks to Mac's great candor and stories, makes for pretty nice reading. (As Richard points out in another thread, I also did a story on Mac's Harrah's gig and its history for Joe Stevens, which appeared in his summer magalog. Ask Joe for a copy!) Re Genii, Richard did the terrific layout with lots of color, coaxed a funny and thoughtful article from Penn, captured some great interaction between Mac and Lance, and got Mac to contribute two awesome standup card tricks. And Mac of course is at the heart of all the pieces. I enjoy contributing to Genii, and one of the things that makes that enjoyable is that you can always trust Richard to make you look good. He keeps raising the bar, which makes all us Genii readers happy. All this plus, for those of us in reasonable mailing range, we get it early. Pretty neat.

Steve: when you do an article, especially a good sized one, doesn't it bug you a little that your copy Genii doesn't have as much new stuff in it as mine? after all, you already know what one big article says.

On a trip to Las Vegas a few months ago, I and my girlfriend saw four magic shows. We both agreed that Mac King's was by far the most entertaining. And it was also the least expensive. Go see his show, you won't be sorry. :)

The Mac King issue is indeed excellent. That being said, I want to mention that Mac's Card in the Shoe handling originally appeared in print in issue 32 of The Crimp, although not nearly as well described. :(